Southern Africa
vivo Launches X50 Series in South Africa
vivo has released the X50 and X50 Pro — part of the all-new vivo series of flagship smartphones. “The X50 series is a professional photography flagship smartphone for consumers to record and share the best moments of their lives in a simple way,” says Jet Xu, Head of Middle East and Africa Business at vivo. “With stable-shooting capabilities, outstanding lenses and sensors, and an overall advanced camera system, the X50 series flagship devices allow users to capture all of life’s stories with professional quality. These are the first X series devices to be launched globally and we are excited to share the best of our innovative technology and design concepts with consumers.” The new devices are kitted with cutting-edge stabilization, night mode, zoom, and portrait technologies in an attemp...
Paratus Activates Network Line Connecting Johannesburg to Maputo
Paratus announced that it has completed a new terrestrial crossing to Mozambique by lighting up a 750km route from Maputo, through Eswatini onwards to Teraco Isando DC in Johannesburg. “It has taken months of meticulous planning and we experienced significant delays due to the pandemic sweeping across the globe. This week, we were able to commence with link testing and the first live traffic traversed the link,” says Rolf Mendelsohn, CTO of the Paratus Group. “Prior to activating this shorter route, the majority of traffic to Maputo would need to go via Mtinzini on either the SEACOM or EASSY cable systems. Latency is halved from 18ms to 9ms. For this route we decided to deploy the latest Infinera coherent technology, operating at 100Gb wavelengths.” Barney Harmse, CEO of Paratus, says, “Th...
Unlocking the Potential of Digital Transformation at DTC2020
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business cannot be underestimated. It has forced organisations to reconsider supply networks, product launches and employee well-being — all the while accelerating the speed at which digital tools or processes need to be implemented. Enterprises looking to compete in today’s marketplace are fast realizing the necessity of a comprehensive digital transformation blueprint that integrates various technologies across the board. With this in mind, IT News Africa and industry experts are set to tackle ideas on how to drive the future-of-work, future-of-connectedness, data management, connected digital experiences and digital innovation strategies at this year’s Digital Transformation Congress. The DTC2020 virtual conference — taking place on&nbs...
South Africans’ Data Allegedly Leaked Online Post Experian Breach
The personal data of nearly 24 million South Africans and 793 749 businesses were handed over to a fraudster last month. Now, reports suggest that some of this information has been leaked online. “Experian South Africa had tens of millions of personal records breached last month. Only 1.3 million contained e-mail addresses, with others including government-issued IDs, names, addresses and employment info. 66% were already in @haveibeenpwned,” says Have I Been Pwned, record exposure search engine, in a tweet. Experian says that it is still investigating the “isolated incident in South Africa involving fraudulent data inquiry.” And the credit bureau notes that it has “identified files which [it] believes contain Experian data relating to the incident on the Internet. We continue to investiga...
Cat Unveils New S62 Pro Smartphone
Cat has launched its new S62 Pro smartphone which is expected to be a game-changer for more demanding work environments, such as engineering, mining, manufacture, agriculture and wildlife. Compared with its predecessor, it is 12% more compact, with a 10% bigger screen. It is faster, more powerful and incredibly tough, making it the ultimate work phone. It incorporates the highest resolution FLIR Lepton thermal imaging as well as isotherm alarming which users can use to monitor a custom temperature range (anything between -20 degrees Celsius to +400 degrees Celsius) Powered by the FLIR Lepton 3.5 and the new MyFLIR Pro app, the S62 Pro offers a four-fold increase in the number of thermal pixels and an unmatched feature set within the included application. For the first time, profession...
Telkom Launches 1TB Wireless Broadband Deal
Image sourced from My Broadband Telkom SA has launched a SIM-only LTE deal that gives users 1 Terabyte (1024GB) worth of data. The telco says that with data becoming an essential need for South Africans, thanks to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, it hopes to give users more than they bargained for. This “game-changing” deal with no strings attached has: No Fair usage policy (FUP); No speed limit, truly unlimited; and No contract, it’s month to month. “More than ever, data has become an essential part of our daily lives. At Telkom, we always have our finger on the pulse and ears on the ground and we understand what people need. We are committed to giving people what they need and subsequently leave no man behind. This 1TB SIM-only deal allows you to work, learn, entertain and collaborat...
Here’s When the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 will Launch in South Africa
Samsung has officially unveiled its newest foldable smartphone – the Galaxy Z Fold 2 – which is expected to be available in South Africa from 25 September. The device will be priced at R49,999. The smartphone is similar to the Galaxy Z Flip and Z Flip 5G which were released earlier this year but The Verge reports that this “marks Samsung’s first major refresh for its flagship foldable phone”. “After releasing two foldable devices and listening to user feedback on the most requested upgrades and new features, Samsung unveils the Galaxy Z Fold 2 with meaningful innovations that offer users enhanced refinements and unique foldable user experiences,” says the tech company. “Galaxy Z Fold 2 combines the portability and flexibility of a smartphone with the power and screen size of...
MTN Group Appoints Acting CFO
MTN has appointed Sugentharan Perumal as acting Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – this comes as the telco’s former CFO, Ralph Mupita, takes up his new position as Group CEO. A chartered accountant for over 15 years, Perumal has extensive financial and accounting experience. He has served as an external auditor of MTN Group and held various key executive and board positions within the group. He is currently acting CFO of MTN South Africa and previously held the CFO position at MTN Irancell. “The board is confident in the wide-ranging experience and knowledge of MTN that Sugen brings to the role,” says Mupita. MTN also announced the appointment of Dineo Molefe as the CFO of MTN South Africa, effective 1 December 2020 – she will replace Perumal. Molefe is a chartered accountant and j...
Vumatel Appoints New CTO
Fibre network operator, Vuma has appointed Francois Swart as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO), a role that it believes will bolster the company’s continued focus on innovation and industry leadership. Swart, who has more than 30 years experience in the telecommunications industry believes that customer-centricity is the cornerstone of working in this industry and that it is important to never lose sight of who the end result of innovation, investment and solutions are for. Dietlof Mare, CEO of Vuma, says “Francois brings to our leadership team a unique experience and skillset that spans IT and telecommunications and we look forward to the role he will play in shaping our company’s technology portfolio.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_e45.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_e45.td-a-rec-img ...
South Africa is Facing a “Massive” Mobile Fraud Problem, says Expert
Anti-fraud firm, Evina has determined that one out of every three mobile subscription attempts in South Africa is fraudulent. The company believes that South African cellular users are very often subscribed to mobile services without their consent. After Kenya, South Africa is the African country most affected by fraud that daily fleeces millions from the mobile accounts of cellular users around the globe. “As Africa’s most advanced economy, it is particularly tragic that South African mobile users are falling victim to subscription frauds that are well managed in many other countries,” says David Lotfi, CEO of Evina. This at a time when locals are under significant financial pressure following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fraud is not treated seriously enough by the various mobile ...
How Cyberattacks Mirror the Rate of COVID-19 Infections
Sourced from Getty Images. The number of cyberattacks on frontline healthcare responders have surged at the same time as the global COVID-19 pandemic, trending upwards almost entirely in line with case numbers. By March 2020, phishing emails had spiked by over 600% since February, as cyber-criminals looked to capitalise on the fear and uncertainty generated by the virus. One-third of these attacks used impersonation of a known brand as a tactic to steal money and data or to deploy a virus or ransomware. When comparing the number of phishing attacks and COVID-19 infections globally between January and March of this year, the rate of growth in phishing attacks correlates almost perfectly with the rate of increase in infections. While these attacks have been seen mostly by healthcare institut...
Vodacom Unveils Video-Streaming Bundles
Vodacom has introduced Video Play Time bundles which allow consumers to stream their favourite movies or series without using their regular mobile data. Video Play Time can be used to access unlimited series of health and fitness documentaries, news, gospel, Hollywood and South African movies, among many other interesting things to watch on Video Play. “Vodacom is more than just a telco. Our strategy is to expand our digital content platforms and strive to become a leading go-to brand for all things entertainment,” says Zubair Munshi, Executive Head of Video Commercial at Vodacom. “With Time Bundles and Video Play’s flexible subscription model, customers are not tied down to long-term contracts and can watch what they want and when they want to” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_9d9.td-a-rec-img{ te...
